Character Education in Private Schools
A school's values can tell you a lot about the experience your child will have there. Character education is one way schools put those values into practice, helping students think about how they treat others, respond to challenges, and contribute to their communities. Because every independent school approaches character a little differently, understanding what those values look like during an ordinary school day can help you decide whether a school feels right for your child.
Key Takeaways
- Character education helps students understand important values and practice them in everyday situations.
- Character education can extend beyond dedicated lessons and become part of a school's broader culture.
- Each independent school may approach character education differently based on its mission and educational philosophy.
- When comparing schools, look beyond the values they name and ask how students put those values into practice.
What is Character Education?
Character education is an intentional approach to helping students develop and practice values that guide how they make decisions, approach responsibilities, and interact with others.
The important word here is practice. Learning what qualities like "honesty," "perseverance," or "respect" mean is one thing. Applying them to daily life is something else entirely. For character education to work, students need structured opportunities to put those ideas in action; schools with a focus on character education aim to provide those opportunities.
What are the Pillars of Character Education?
Some general trends that St. Louis independent schools value as pillars of their character education approach include focusing on how students treat people, approach their work, and contribute to their school or broader community. Specific qualities that character education tends to emphasize include integrity, compassion, curiosity, self-discipline, and citizenship.
What is the Goal of Character Education?
Character education is all about helping students understand what certain values mean and giviving them opportunities to practice them.
Often, those opportunities happen in ordinary moments. A student may need to take ownership of a mistake or work through a disagreement with a classmate. An instructor-led discussion might ask students to think about how a decision affects someone else.
Those moments can make character education feel less like a separate subject and more like part of how students learn to navigate school and their relationships with others.
Does Every Private School Teach Character Education the Same Way?
No, and those differences are worth exploring.
Independent schools can build their approach to character around their own mission and educational philosophy. One school may have a formal character education program, while another may weave its values throughout everyday school life. Neither approach is superior; it simply depends on what approach you think will resonate with your child.
Character Education Starts With a School's Values
Families can feel a lot of pressure to find the "best" school. As those of us at ISSL know from decades of working within St. Louis's independent school community, there is no one best school. There is the school that fits your child.
Character education can be an important part of figuring out that fit. Look at the values each school emphasizes, then dig deeper into how students experience those values at an open house or school tour. The answers can help you get beyond what's written on a website and better understand what being part of that school might actually feel like.
Character education can look like:
- Students discuss an ethical decision in a book,
- Reflecting on how they handled a conflict during an extracurricular,
- Participating in community service opportunities, or
- Taking responsibility within their school community when they make a mistake.
The common thread is the opportunity to put a school's values into practice.
Research suggests that character education can have positive effects, although results vary depending on the program and how researchers measure success.
Character education is not required in Missouri, although it is strongly encouraged by the Missouri State Board of Education.https://independentschools.org/schools
Many Independent Schools of St. Louis (ISSL) members place great value on character education. At ISSL, we help you understand your options, so you can decide which environment feels right for your child.